KENDRA CONNOCK
Every bibliophile, like their literary heroes, has an origin story. Books are precious to us for many reasons; for some it is the escapism offered in the safe haven of a book’s pages, for others it’s the comfort brought by familiar characters. Whatever the reason, books hold a special place in our hearts; some more special than others. Like any good origin story, there are phases in the life of every bookworm which are characterised by the books they read. PDBY explored the origin stories of some of UP’s very own bibliophiles and asked the same question of members of the English Department and our library staff: Tell me about a book that changed your life.
-Professor Molly Brown, Head of Department: English
“I have always enjoyed science fiction and fantasy, which allow the reader to view their own world from different perspectives. A book that has had a lasting impact on me is Ursula Le Guin’s novella, The Word for World is Forest (1972). It is to some extent informed by the Vietnam war, but it tells the story of what happens when a military logging colony is established on the planet Athshe by people from Terra (which seems to correspond pretty much to a future Earth). The colonists enslave and brutalise the green-furred Athsheans, who have no concept of aggression. The consequences are tragic for all concerned.
With hindsight, I don’t think this is one of Le Guin’s best works; the characterisation and setting are nowhere near as complex or richly developed as they are in The Left Hand of Darkness (1969), which I also recommend, but I read about Athshe as a teenager and it made me think seriously for the first time about culture as a construct, language as a barrier, the fragility of ecosystems and the impact of war and imperialism on both colonisers and the colonised. It broke my heart and reshaped my understanding of the world.”
“Every bibliophile, like their literary heroes, has an origin story.“
-Professor David Medalie, Lecturer, English Department
“I would like to say that a book which changed my life is A Passage to India (1924), E. M. Forster’s famous novel about the British Raj (Britain’s imperial control of India). It changed my life because it helped me to see how layered fictional texts can be, how they can demonstrate complexity and nuance in relation to political and historical situations. It also showed me how thrilling language can be when it is powerfully and evocatively used. Although I’ve been studying the novel for many years, I have never ceased to find it fascinating and to discover new meanings within it, which shows what a rich text it is.”
-Dr Charne Lavery, Lecturer, English Department
“I think books have a tendency to make tiny, incremental changes to a life — nothing massive or revolutionary, but a shift in coordinates that can gradually change its course in lasting ways. Many books have produced different kinds of shifts in my life. One of those, although I’m not even sure how much I like the book, is JM Coetzee’s Disgrace. I grew up in the Eastern Cape not far from where Lucy lives, and went to university in Cape Town where David Lurie teaches, and it was the first time I’d read something which mirrored the geography of my own life. The familiarity of space only added to the sense of strangeness of the plot, giving me a disorientating sense of many different histories layered on the same landscape. Later on reading books like Zakes Mda’s Ways of Dying expanded that sense of defamiliarisation of what I thought I knew about where I came from, both humbling and illuminating.”
-Elsabé Olivier, Assistant Director: Marketing & Quality Assurance
“A book that changed my life is called The Story of My Life by Helen Keller and her teacher Annie Sullivan. I remember loaning it from the public library in Witpoortjie when I was in primary school. I was absolutely mesmerised by the story of Helen Keller who, due to severe illness, had not only lost her sight but her hearing as well. At the time I could identify with her frustration at trying to understand and communicate with everyone around her, and I still remember being in awe of the breakthrough moment in which Annie Sullivan spelled out the word “w-a-t-e-r” in Helen Keller’s hand under the running water of a pump. This book made me realise just how much I had to be thankful for, and how often we take our health, sight and hearing for granted. But more than that, it ignited in me a love for reading. Suddenly reading wasn’t something I had to do to please my parents or teachers, but it broadened my horizons, enriched my life, helped me to relax and took me to places I could have only dreamed of. I really enjoyed it; it marked the beginning of a life filled with books and reading!”
Image: Cletus Mulaudi
I’m Kendra! Coffee addict, cat lover, postgrad student. Usually found reading, napping, or doodling.